Improvisation, Computers, and Interaction : Rethinking Human-Computer Interaction Through Music

Interaction is an integral part of all music. Interaction is part of listening, of playing, of composing and even of thinking about music. In this thesis the multiplicity of modes in which one may engage interactively in, through and with music is the starting point for rethinking Human-Computer Interaction in general and Interactive Music in particular. I propose that in Human-Computer interaction the methodology of control, interaction-as-control, in certain cases should be given up in favor for a more dynamic and reciprocal mode of interaction, interaction-as-difference: Interaction as an activity concerned with inducing differences that make a difference. Interaction-as-difference suggests a kind of parallelity rather than click-and-response. In essence, the movement from control to difference was a result of rediscovering the power of improvisation as a method for organizing and constructing musical content and is not to be understood as an opposition: It is rather a broadening of the more common paradigm of direct manipulation in Human-Computer Interaction. Improvisation is at the heart of all the sub-projects included in this thesis, also, in fact, in those that are not immediately related to music but more geared towards computation. Trusting the self-organizing aspect of musical improvisation, and allowing it to diffuse into other areas of my practice, constitutes the pivotal change that has radically influenced my artistic practice. Furthermore, is the work-in-movement (re-)introduced as a work kind that encompasses radically open works. The work-in-movement, presented and exemplified by a piece for guitar and computer, requires different modes of representation as the traditional musical score is too restrictive and is not able to communicate that which is the most central aspect: the collaboration, negotiation and interaction. The Integra framework and the relational database model with its corresponding XML representation is proposed as a means to produce annotated scores that carry past performances and version with it. The common nominator, the prerequisite, for interaction-as-difference and a improvisatory and self-organizing attitude towards musical practice it the notion of giving up of the Self. Only if the Self is able and willing to accept the loss the priority of interpretation (as for the composer) or the faithfulness to ideology or idiomatics (performer). Only is one is willing to forget is interaction-as-difference made possible. Among the artistic works that have been produced as part of this inquiry are some experimental tools in the form of computer software to support the proposed concepts of interactivity. These, along with the more traditional musical work make up both the object and the method in this PhD project. These sub-projects contained within the frame of the thesis, some (most) of which are still works-in-progress, are used to make inquiries into the larger question of the significance of interaction in the context of artistic practice involving computers

Jämförelse mellan olika jordbearbetningsmetoder vid etablering av vårkorn

I dagens jordbruk effektiviseras allt för att spara tid, pengar och miljö, men samtidigt bedriva en effektiv odling som ger hög avkastning. Det är därför intressant att studera vilken jordbearbetningsmetod som är effektivast för att få en bra etablering samt en bra axbildning, som bygger hög skörd. I detta försök kommer etablering av vårkorn med tre olika jordbearbetningsmetoder studeras och följas fram till axbildning för att se vilken metod som genererar mest ax per m². I detta arbete kommer tre jordbearbetningsmetoder att granskas och utvärderas: Vanlig konventionell vårplöjning med efterföljande såbäddsharvning. Reducerad bearbetning i två varianter; en med kultivering med efterföljande såbäddsharvning samt en annan med ultragrund bearbetning utan efterföljande såbäddsharvning. Utvärdering av de tre metoderna sker med avseende på hur vårkorn etableras och utvecklas efter sådd med en skivbillsmaskin, Väderstad Rapid. Vårkornets utveckling kommer att utvärderas genom att räkna antalet skott per m² på våren och antalet ax per m² under högsommaren. Vid skotträkningen den 10 maj 2021, ca tre veckor efter sådden av vårkornet, kunde det konstateras att det inte var någon skillnad i antalet skott per m² för de tre jordberbetningsmetoderna. Skotträkningen visade att alla tre bearbetningarna hade ett bra etableringsresultat med 395‐400 skott per m². Skotträkningen utfördes genom att åtta provtagningar gjordes där en radmeter kontrollerades. Med aktuellt radavstånd (12,5cm) ger detta 1m². Vid axräkningen, den 1 augusti 2021, kunde det konstateras att vanlig konventionell vårplöjning gav bäst resultat med 568 ax per m². Ultragrund bearbetning gav i princip samma resultat, med 560 ax per m². Kultiveringen med pinnkultivatorn utmärker sig då denna metod endast genererade 482 ax per m². Axräkningen gick till genom att åtta provtagningar gjordes där en meter kontrollerades. Med aktuellt radavstånd (12,5cm) ger detta 1m². Därför med avseende på effektivitet, ekonomi och ur miljöhänsyn så är ultragrund bearbetning en mycket bra jordbearbetningsmetod då den står sig väl mot konventionell vårplöjning och dessutom genererar fler ax per m² än reducerad bearbetning med pinnkultivator. Den blir även en attraktiv metod då den även kräver mindre drivmedel samt kräver betydligt mindre tid för att genomföra jämfört med plöjningen i kombination med två såbäddsharvningar.In today's agriculture, everything is made more efficient to save time, money and the environment, but at the same time perform efficient farming that gives a high yield. It is therefore interesting to study which tilling method is most effective for obtaining a good establishment and a good number of barley ears that builds harvest. In this experiment, the establishment of spring barley with different methods of tilling was studied and examined up to the barley generates ear to see which method generates the most ears per m². In this work, three tillage methods was evaluated: Ordinary conventional ploughing with following seedbed harrowing. Two different variants of reduced tilling ; one with cultivation with following seedbed harrowing and another with ultra‐shallow cultivation without following seedbed harrowing. Evaluation of the three methods was based on how spring barley was established and developed after sowing with a seed drill, Väderstad Rapid. The development of spring grain was evaluated by counting the number of sprouts per m² in the spring and the number of ears per m² during the summer. When counting sprouts, 10th of May 2021, about three weeks after drilling the spring barely, there were no difference between the three different tilling methods when counting sprouts per m². When counting sprouts all tilling methods were equal with 395‐400 sprouts per m². The counting was done by taking eight samples where one meter was checked. With the current row spacing (12.5cm) this gives 1m². After counting ears the 1st of August, it can be stated that ordinary conventional spring ploughing gave the best result with 568 ears per m². Ultra shallow tilling gave almost the same result with 560 ears per m². The cultivation with the tine cultivator was not as good, as this method only generated 482 ears per m². The counting was done by taking eight samples where one meter was checked. With the current row spacing (12.5cm) this gives 1m². Therefore, in terms of efficiency, economy and from an environmental point of view, ultrashallow tillage is a very efficient tilling method as it is equal ploughing. It also generates more ears per m² than reduced tillage with a tine cultivator. It also becomes an attractive method, as it also requires less fuel and requires less time to use if compared to ploughing and two crossings with the harrow

Ground-state ammonia and water in absorption towards Sgr B2

Context. Observations of transitions to the ground-state of a molecule are essential to obtain a complete picture of its excitation and chemistry in the interstellar medium, especially in diffuse and/or cold environments. For the important interstellar molecules H₂O and NH₃, these ground-state transitions are heavily absorbed by the terrestrial atmosphere, hence not observable from the ground. Aims: We attempt to understand the chemistry of nitrogen, oxygen, and their important molecular forms, NH₃ and H₂O in the interstellar medium of the Galaxy. Methods: We have used the Odin* submillimetre-wave satellite telescope to observe the ground state transitions of ortho-ammonia and ortho-water, including their ¹⁵N, ¹⁸O, and ¹⁷O isotopologues, towards Sgr B2. The extensive simultaneous velocity coverage of the observations, >500 km s^-1, ensures that we can probe the conditions of both the warm, dense gas of the molecular cloud Sgr B2 near the Galactic centre, and the more diffuse gas in the Galactic disk clouds along the line-of-sight. Results: We present ground-state NH₃ absorption in seven distinct velocity features along the line-of-sight towards Sgr B2. We find a nearly linear correlation between the column densities of NH₃ and CS, and a square-root relation to N₂H⁺. The ammonia abundance in these diffuse Galactic disk clouds is estimated to be about 0.5–1 × 10^-8, similar to that observed for diffuse clouds in the outer Galaxy. On the basis of the detection of H_218O absorption in the 3 kpc arm, and the absence of such a feature in the H_217O spectrum, we conclude that the water abundance is around 10-7, compared to ~10-8 for NH3. The Sgr B2 molecular cloud itself is seen in absorption in NH₃, 15NH₃, H₂O, H_218O, and H_217O, with emission superimposed on the absorption in the main isotopologues. The non-LTE excitation of NH3 in the environment of Sgr B2 can be explained without invoking an unusually hot (500 K) molecular layer. A hot layer is similarly not required to explain the line profiles of the 11,0≥ts10,1 transition from H2O and its isotopologues. The relatively weak 15NH3 absorption in the Sgr B2 molecular cloud indicates a high [ 14N/15N] isotopic ratio >600. The abundance ratio of H_218O and H_217O is found to be relatively low, 2.5–3. These results together indicate that the dominant nucleosynthesis process in the Galactic centre is CNO hydrogen burning. Odin is a Swedish-led satellite project funded jointly by the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the National Technology Agency of Finland (Tekes), and the centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES, France). The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) was the industrial prime contractor and is also responsible for the satellite operation

Cell-based non-invasive prenatal testing for monogenic disorders:confirmation of unaffected fetuses following preimplantation genetic testing

PURPOSE: Proof of concept of the use of cell-based non-invasive prenatal testing (cbNIPT) as an alternative to chorionic villus sampling (CVS) following preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M). METHOD: PGT-M was performed by combined testing of short tandem repeat (STR) markers and direct mutation detection, followed by transfer of an unaffected embryo. Patients who opted for follow-up of PGT-M by CVS had blood sampled, from which potential fetal extravillous throphoblast cells were isolated. The cell origin and mutational status were determined by combined testing of STR markers and direct mutation detection using the same setup as during PGT. The cbNIPT results with respect to the mutational status were compared to those of genetic testing of the CVS. RESULTS: Eight patients had blood collected between gestational weeks 10 and 13, from which 33 potential fetal cell samples were isolated. Twenty-seven out of 33 isolated cell samples were successfully tested (82%), of which 24 were of fetal origin (89%). This corresponds to a median of 2.5 successfully tested fetal cell samples per case (range 1–6). All fetal cell samples had a genetic profile identical to that of the transferred embryo confirming a pregnancy with an unaffected fetus, in accordance with the CVS results. CONCLUSION: These findings show that although measures are needed to enhance the test success rate and the number of cells identified, cbNIPT is a promising alternative to CVS. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N-20180001 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10815-021-02104-5

The Field of Musical Improvisation

18 pagesIn this essay the first initiatives are presented to come to a new theoretical approach of musical improvisation. The main idea is to regard musical improvisation as a nonlinear dynamical system in which various (f)actors interact and connect in complex ways. In other words, the Field of Musical Improvisation (FMI) has no stable or strict identity

etherSound - an interactive sound installation

This article describes the interactive instrument/sound installation etherSound and discusses its artistic and ethical implications. etherSound is a work in progress and the main intent is to create a vehicle for audience participation through the use of SMS (Short Message Service). The two different contexts in which etherSound has been tried (in concert with performers and as a sound installation without performers) is discussed as well as the design of the system and the mapping between text and sound. A notion of 'democracy of participation' is introduced. The relatively fast response of the system, the familiarity of the interface (the cellular phone) and the accessibillity of the system suggests that the cellular phone can be successfully integrated in a sonic art work